Better to receive: Short game equaling big numbers for Southeast's Deon Fairlee

Bill Welt Staff Writer @billwelt

Thursday

Sep 13, 2018 at 4:22 PMSep 13, 2018 at 6:43 PM

Same kind of size. Both receivers.

Southeast High School's Deon Fairlee may bear some resemblance to his ball coach, Matt Lauber.

Perhaps, except the 5-foot-10 Fairlee has Lauber beat in one regard -- speed.

"He's probably a little quicker than I am," said Lauber, who was once a receiver at NCAA Division II McKendree University. "I don't like saying that, but we're very similar."

The Spartans (1-2) use that speed in a whole gamut of ways: screen plays, cross routes and jet sweeps.

You name it, Fairlee does it.

"My speed definitely plays a big role," Fairlee said.

It's the primary reason Fairlee ended up eclipsing the school record with 52 receptions last season to go along with 726 yards and six TDs. He's more than on his way to breaking that mark again this season. After three games, Fairlee has already racked up 46 receptions for 388 yards and four TDs. That's a stunning average of 15 catches per game.

His production and value on the team is undeniable, even if some of his catches come off Southeast's jet sweeps. The way it works is junior quarterback Stuart Ross lobs the ball forward and Fairlee snatches the ball as he sprints through the backfield. That way if Fairlee drops the ball, it counts as an incomplete pass.

No matter.

"He's pretty quick once he gets it in his hands," Lauber said. "He's got good vision, too, which is something that I believe is pretty underrated on him. He sees it and he goes.

"It's a very underrated trait for high school receivers, just seeing the vision. I think once the game slows down for them, they kind of see the big picture. When he was a sophomore, he was only seeing that tunnel vision. Now, he's starting to feel it and move around."

Lauber and Ross have both recognized how much Fairlee has improved in a fairly short amount of time. That includes this past offseason.

Ross and Fairlee went to various football camps together over the summer, including Lindenwood, Northern Illinois and Western Illinois.

"It's been three years since I've been working with him and every year it seems like we've been progressing in our timing and progressing with how well we know each other," Ross said. "I think that's showing on the field. We went to camps together over the summer and that just increased our confidence in each other."

Fairlee's confidence has especially boomed. It's helped him not just perform better on the field but also speak up.

"I feel like I'm doing a lot better than I did last year," Fairlee said. "I'm not as scared to play on varsity because last year was my first year. I feel like I'm making a lot more bigger plays and I've stepped up more as a vocal leader because last year I never really wanted to talk.

"For me to be able to talk, I can actually help the younger receivers so that they know what they're doing."

Lauber welcomes the new moxie from his senior team captain.

"He likes to say he's open no matter what," Lauber said. "We like it because it's that confidence in young men that they feel they're open all of the time. As a former receiver, I appreciate that because we're never guarded, right? It doesn't matter if he's on me or not, I'll make the play."

Ditto Ross.

"I think he feels a lot more confident in the pass game and more confident in me," Ross said. "That confidence from him in me has allowed me to make more plays.

"I think that it's just his confidence has grown so much in the blocking, the quarterback and himself especially. Now that he's seen everybody else play and he's been a full time starter for a year and a half now, he's really seen his competition and feels that he can do anything."

It also helps to be bigger, stronger and faster.

This past year, Fairlee has increased his bench press by 70 pounds to 235 and recently squatted a personal-best 405 pounds.

It showed on the field last week against Decatur Eisenhower.

Fairlee muscled through several tackles at the end of the second quarter for a 6-yard touchdown catch, his second of the game.

"I didn't expect to go in there, but I pulled through," Fairlee said.

That strength makes him just that much more elusive.

"Deon just kind of does what Deon does to get Deon open," Ross said. "He runs the right routes, but he's so quick and agile that he finds the opening in defenses that they even didn't know they had. I always see him, especially now with our bright yellow helmets."

His athleticism may hardly be surprising considering Anthony Fairlee is his cousin. Anthony, also a senior at Southeast, was The State Journal-Register's 2017 Metro Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Who's the better athlete between the two?

"We could both argue," said Deon, who's solely committed to football.

He's put in the extra time and effort over the last few years because he wants to play football in college. Although there hasn't been any offers yet, Lauber said it's early and believes he'll be signing with somebody come February.

"It's definitely been my goal since I first started football in fifth grade," said Fairlee, who plans to compete in track this spring. "I've always wanted to play football. I didn't really care what level it was, I just want to go to college. I think two of my family members really went to college and I wanted to be the first to go for a sport."

That, and reaching the football postseason.

The Spartans, who host Class 6A No. 9-ranked Sacred Heart-Griffin (2-1) on Friday, haven't made the playoffs since 2014.

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